Bible-Belt Beware

​Bible-belt residents sometimes suffocate from church saturation. Church and religion morph into a box to check off a list rather than a relationship to savor and pursue.

Of course, none of it begins that way. When we first come to know Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we’re absolutely smitten by His love and astounding glory. His beauty radiates through every fiber of our beings and we long for Him like water on a scorching day.

But something happens along the way. Actually, church happens. Religion happens. The institution that once ushered us into God’s glorious presence before now cements walls of law around our relationships with Him. The message of freedom sold to us before mutates into chains closing in on our vulnerable hearts until we’re numb to His presence.

In an effort to keep us holy and faithful, church leaders stint our growth with relentless rules and regulations. The Gospel of grace undergoes a dangerous metamorphosis in our perspectives until it’s now one of law and action. Instead of our standing before God being the result of Christ and His work for us, we think it depends on us and our works for Him.

Unfortunately, this Gospel-shift is not new. In fact, the church of Galatia experienced it first hand and suffered the damaging effects of its dangerous currents. Paul observed their descent into anti-Gospel waters and decided to throw them a life raft in word:

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 
Galatians 1:6-12

In his life-saving efforts to get their attention, Paul reveals unquestionable truths about the Gospel, daring anyone to contradict.

The Gospel’s Origin
We often approach the Gospel with the erroneous belief that we can fully grasp its truth and significance in our lives. Bummer news. We can’t. Not entirely anyway.

God revealed His glorious plan of redemption (the Gospel) in His Scriptures whose main character is Jesus Christ. We’re endowed with the privilege to intellectually comprehend the basic facts of the Gospel, but in no way can we ever hope to experience every aspect and nuance of it in our lives.

Once saved we commit ourselves to pursuing this truth with all our hearts, beings, minds, and souls for the rest of our lives—both here and in eternity. As Tullian Tchividjian says often, the mark of our Christian growth is not measured by the extent of moving beyond the Gospel, but deeper into the Gospel.

This posture of realignment with the Gospel helps us understand just how much the Gospel is NOT about us. It doesn’t need us, isn’t dependent on us, and can thrive just fine without our puny efforts.

Its origin is God.

Lest we forget who God is, take a look outside. Go anywhere in the world and marvel any aspect of creation—enormous or tiny—it all points to God. He not only created the most majestic of mountains, He sovereignly orchestrates the minutest spasm of microscopic cells. In laymen’s terms, He’s BIG. Really big.

His Gospel, thus, is BIG. Its reach extends to the most prestigious of people and plunges to the darkest crevices of society’s downtrodden. No one can escape its mysterious bull’s eye when He focuses His sights on them because it’s of GOD, not man.

The Gospel is GRACE
If controversy exists around the Gospel, it’s in regard to grace. Most of us accept God’s bigness and sovereignty, but His grace leaves us grappling. Why would anyone, much less God, spend two minutes with a creation that wants nothing to do with Him? Why would He love such backslidden and blasphemous people enough to sacrifice His only Son to save them? Why wouldn’t have Christ called it quits in Gethsemane knowing He was about to suffer brutal murder by the very people His murder would save?

The answer is grace. And it doesn’t make sense.

When something doesn’t make sense we exercise our rationalization expertise and work it until it does. The problem lies in the fact that grace can’t be worked. It stands in stark contrast to our ways of thinking, which led the Galatians to their descent into theologically erred waters.

The Gospel Delusion
The Gospel reflects the heart of God, making it perfect and thoroughly holy. Nothing we do or say changes it, but we certainly impact how we (and others) perceive it.

The Galatians wrestled with this issue. They heard the Gospel—the true Gospel as preached to them by the apostle Paul—yet some of them couldn’t accept its grace. The freedom it offered posed a threat to their little life boxes they strove to hold together.

Instead of wrestling with it and surrendering to the Spirit’s guidance, they ever-so-slightly wrote it off and settled for another Gospel, which Paul makes clear is no Gospel at all.

We’re Free in Truth; not to Change Truth
We experience true freedom when we live in the truth and boundaries God ordained for us. The Gospel shatters the chains of sin, but we don’t have the freedom to turn around and change the terms of our freedom.

It’s all or nothing. We either accept it or reject it. We can’t leave out parts of truth simply because it makes it easier to understand. Once we become His we belong to Christ, and no person or institution can ever threaten that status.

God Alone Secures our Status 
People don’t secure our relationships with God. Nor do our actions. We can never go to church enough to keep ourselves in God’s favor; nor could we throw a sin tantrum enough to lose it. Our status as His children is secured in Christ via His Gospel.
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This is the point Paul is focusing the Galatians on. Just like we accept the Gospel to enter His kingdom, we accept the Gospel to thrive in His kingdom. It’s His Gospel on His terms. Don’t let church, society, religion or anyone else deter you from the liberating truth of His grace.